Where is the Highest Escalator in the World?

There are many impressive examples of vertical transportation all around the world. We have placed a spotlight on many of them with our blog posts. In this post we turn our attention to the highest escalator in the world.  The highest escalator in the world is actually one of a pair of escalators. The location of these escalators is as far removed from standard installations of linear escalators as you can imagine.

Where is it?

The highest escalator in the world is in Japan at the Sky Building located in the Umeda district of Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. The Sky Building is Osaka’s seventh tallest building and got its name because of its height; the building consists of two 40 story towers rising 173 metres (568 ft) from the ground. A pair of escalators bisects a circular atrium piercing the roof and upper levels of the building. These two escalators are the highest escalators in the world.

Who built it?

The building was originally planned in 1988; it was to be the “City of Air” project and there were to be four interconnected towers. Costs for this project prohibitive and four buildings were subsequently scaled down to two. The scaled down building with two towers was designed by Hiroshi Hara and was constructed by the Takenaka Corporation. Construction was completed in 1993. The building has a rooftop observatory, a floating garden observatory and an underground market. At the bottom of the towers there is an urban garden with walking trails and water features.

Who owns it?

The Toshiba Corporation wholly owned the building until in July 2008 they sold a majority stake (65%) to Nomura Real Estate. They retained 35% ownership. Tenants of the Sky Building include Mazda, the Consulate General of Germany and Astra Zeneca. It is possible to pay a small fee of 700 yen to ride the glass elevator to the top of the Sky Building and then to experience the highest escalators in the world first hand.

Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. Are you currently planning a project that will involve vertical transportation? We would be happy to discuss with you. Give us a call on T +44 (0) 20 7739 5093 or send us an email via garyavis@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.

Photo credit: http://bit.ly/1HHqShB

Curved escalators: Who made the first one?

Curved escalators exist now. They are still relatively rare and are often provoke wonder and awe when the general public first encounters them. Many are justifiably regarded as tourist attractions in their own right as they're often visually more appealing than linear escalators and perhaps more in keeping with the luxurious settings they often become part of. There are curved escalators in hotels, casinos and upscale shopping malls around the world. 

Curved escalators: How do they work? 

Curved or spiral escalators present new engineering challenges compared to linear escalators. They do take up less floor space but need to be assembled on site. Key challenges include the curvature of the steps and the returning steps back under escalator. One company has mastered this and refers to their pioneering technology but more on them shortly.

Who built the first curved escalator? 

In 1985 Mitsubishi Electric installed the world's first practical spiral escalator in Osaka, Japan and began building curved or spiral  escalators on a regular basis and it is they who dominate the curved  or spiral escalator market today however, it is not Mitsubishi who built the first curved escalator.

So who did? The first curved escalator was built by Jesse Wilford Reno in 1906 and installed briefly at Holloway Station on the London Underground.  Reno was the inventor of the escalator having built the first working escalator in New York’s Coney Island in 1891.  The curved escalator at Holloway Road was removed shortly after installation and never used by the public. The spiral escalator was not a successful experiment. The photograph below was taken before it was removed. 

From Reno until now.... 

There has been a lot of progress since Reno’s day and now curved escalators manufactured by Mitsubishi can be found at the following locations:  San Francisco Centre, San Francisco, Canada’s River Rock Casino Resort, Wheelock Place in Singapore, Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Hilton, The Landmark Tower in Japan, the Times Square shopping mall in Hong Kong, Lotte World in South Korea, The Venetian Hotel and Casino in Macau, Wynn Las Vegas and The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In conclusion these machines can only be deployed it situations where money is no object as there are very costly when compared to conventional escalators in conjunction with ongoing maintenance and support over the life of the equipment.

What next?

In the UK, the Levytator was created in 2010 and launched with much publicity heralding it as the first free-form curved escalator. The Levytator is capable of following freeform curves, achieved by replacing the traditional rectangular steps with curved modules that also allows the modules to be placed in a continuous loop.

You can see a demonstration of the Levytator here.

Dunbar and Boardman is the lift, escalator and access equipment consultancy. Do you have a current or planned project that includes escalators? Curved or linear? We would be happy to discuss any such requirements and how we may be able to assist. Give us a call on T +44 (0) 20 7739 5093 or send us an email via peterboardman@dunbarboardman.com to start the conversation. We look forward to hearing from you.